Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Shippy Crowned Player of the Year, Six Cowgirls Tabbed to All-Big 12 Teams
May 09, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball
Full 2018 All-Big 12 List
IRVING, Texas – Oklahoma State softball senior Vanessa Shippy was named the 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year, it was announced by the league office Wednesday. Shippy also received first-team All-Big 12 honors and was joined by five of her teammates on the 2018 All-Big 12 teams.
Shippy's Big 12 Player of the Year honor is the second of her career, as she previously was named the league's top competitor in 2016. She is just the third player in league history to be named the player of the year on multiple occasions, joining Oklahoma's Amber Flores (2009, 2010) and Shelby Pendley (2013, 2015).
Shippy finished the regular season as the Big 12's leader in on-base percentage (.613), runs scored (65) and walks (54). She was one point away from leading the league in batting average, as her .460 mark trails only Baylor's Kyla Walker, who hit .461. All four of her marks place her among the top-10 competitors nationally, with her on-base percentage and walks total topping all "Power Five" players in the country.
The senior's impressive swan song has seen her reach several historic milestones along the way, including becoming just the fifth player in Big 12 history to record at least 225 career hits, 150 walks, 150 runs and 125 RBI. She is the first to reach all four of those marks since Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain did so in 2015. Shippy also became the first National Pro Fastpitch draftee of the Kenny Gajewski era at OSU when she was selected 11th overall by the Cleveland Comets in NPF's 2018 College Draft.
Twice this season Shippy has been named national player of the week and on three occasions she has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors. She is one of 25 finalists still in contention for the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and last week she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team for the third time in her career.
Samantha Clakley, Taylor Lynch and Madi Sue Montgomery joined Shippy on the All-Big 12 roster, with all three earning second-team honors. It is the third time that Montgomery has been named an All-Big 12 performer, the second such occasion for Lynch and the first for Clakley, who is wrapping up her first season in the Big 12 after transferring to OSU from UT Arlington.
Sydney Pennington and Chelsea Alexander round out the group of six Cowgirls listed in Wednesday's announcement, as both earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Pennington has had a historic freshman season that ranks alongside some of the best in school history. Her seven home runs are just two shy of Julie Ward's OSU freshman record that was set in 2009, and the shortstop's 43 runs batted in are the third most by a Cowgirl freshman, trailing only Madi Sue Montgomery (57 - 2016) and Jaime Foutch (51 - 1996). Meanwhile, Alexander has been one of the squad's breakout stars, growing from one of Coach Gajewski's first pinch runners into an everyday starter in left field for the Pokes.
For more information on the Cowgirls, follow the team on Twitter (@CowgirlSB), Facebook (Cowgirl Softball) and Instagram (osusoftball).
IRVING, Texas – Oklahoma State softball senior Vanessa Shippy was named the 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year, it was announced by the league office Wednesday. Shippy also received first-team All-Big 12 honors and was joined by five of her teammates on the 2018 All-Big 12 teams.
Shippy's Big 12 Player of the Year honor is the second of her career, as she previously was named the league's top competitor in 2016. She is just the third player in league history to be named the player of the year on multiple occasions, joining Oklahoma's Amber Flores (2009, 2010) and Shelby Pendley (2013, 2015).
Shippy finished the regular season as the Big 12's leader in on-base percentage (.613), runs scored (65) and walks (54). She was one point away from leading the league in batting average, as her .460 mark trails only Baylor's Kyla Walker, who hit .461. All four of her marks place her among the top-10 competitors nationally, with her on-base percentage and walks total topping all "Power Five" players in the country.
The senior's impressive swan song has seen her reach several historic milestones along the way, including becoming just the fifth player in Big 12 history to record at least 225 career hits, 150 walks, 150 runs and 125 RBI. She is the first to reach all four of those marks since Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain did so in 2015. Shippy also became the first National Pro Fastpitch draftee of the Kenny Gajewski era at OSU when she was selected 11th overall by the Cleveland Comets in NPF's 2018 College Draft.
Twice this season Shippy has been named national player of the week and on three occasions she has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors. She is one of 25 finalists still in contention for the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and last week she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team for the third time in her career.
Samantha Clakley, Taylor Lynch and Madi Sue Montgomery joined Shippy on the All-Big 12 roster, with all three earning second-team honors. It is the third time that Montgomery has been named an All-Big 12 performer, the second such occasion for Lynch and the first for Clakley, who is wrapping up her first season in the Big 12 after transferring to OSU from UT Arlington.
Sydney Pennington and Chelsea Alexander round out the group of six Cowgirls listed in Wednesday's announcement, as both earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Pennington has had a historic freshman season that ranks alongside some of the best in school history. Her seven home runs are just two shy of Julie Ward's OSU freshman record that was set in 2009, and the shortstop's 43 runs batted in are the third most by a Cowgirl freshman, trailing only Madi Sue Montgomery (57 - 2016) and Jaime Foutch (51 - 1996). Meanwhile, Alexander has been one of the squad's breakout stars, growing from one of Coach Gajewski's first pinch runners into an everyday starter in left field for the Pokes.
For more information on the Cowgirls, follow the team on Twitter (@CowgirlSB), Facebook (Cowgirl Softball) and Instagram (osusoftball).
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